A book I plan on reccomending my sons

Where to start? An amazing book which makes you understand yourself as a man better, and how we fit into this world.

It addresses and answers so many questions a man goes through life asking himself. What does it mean to be a man? What does it mean to be a good man? What does it mean to be good at BEING a man?

Most importantly. This book talks about what sort of lifestyle/society humanity had come from, and the dark direction we are going towards. It does get a bit dark towards the later chapters, but all throughout it is attention grabbing and interesting book.

It talks about topics of survival, masculinity, femininity, strength, courage, mastery, honor, society amongst many.

Chapter 13 was the one that hit home the hardest, look forward to it.

Give it a try, it was really a great book which I plan on letting my sons read. It will help you understand yourself better, what more could you ask for, for a mere 15 bucks?

Only reason for 4/5 Performance is that a small portion of the book, had choppy recorded audio and skipped. But it went away as book progressed. The book is narrated by the author, which conveys the information smoothly.

Some related books one might also read after this: No More Mr Nice Guy By Robert Glover and 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.

50 people found this helpful

Confuses being a man with being an ape

A well written book with some good parts. Unfortunately the author repeats himself over and over again, describing the same 3 concepts in many different words without adding anything new each time.
The book pretty much claims that to be a man you need to go out there killing things and acting like an ape. War and survivor, that is the author's idea of masculinity. There is some truth to it, but you'll find the point of view very limiting and base. The book is also homophobic and sexiest, which gets old pretty quickly. I tried to like it, but it tries way too hard to push a very trivialized and restrictive doctrine that ends up making you feel a dumber and a intellectually lower than you felt before.

39 people found this helpful

A good primer for more in depth exploration of men and masculinity

As a man that leads hundreds of men in the topics pertinent to men and masculinity, I have some issues with some notions Donovan presents. The balance between brawny and intellectual representation of masculinity is missed and shows a lack of finesse. There are times to be the traditional warrior, times to be the diplomat, and times to be both. Yet, the presentation is geared more toward the warrior who has little skill in being a diplomat and near zero capability toward being both.

I would certainly recommend this book as one of many books for men who are interested in the topic should read in order to expand their understanding of the full spectrum of perceptions and opinions on the matters discussed. But if you are looking for a book that will be a great guide into the world of masculinity and men, this book would be dangerous to base your future thoughts and conversations on. It’s off the mark enough to make you more hazard than help.

37 people found this helpful

Needs to be re-recorded

Author/Narrator is good, but technical glitches take away from the book.

Content is very interesting.

28 people found this helpful

Weakness

Jack wants you to go find a group of men to teach you how to be a man. Jack has turned into a man who’s full dumb ideas. He wants to hang it with a group of angry little loser and talk about how messed up the world is. I’d suggest saving yourself sometimes and reading something by the real hero’s and thinkers of this world.

25 people found this helpful

Unfortunately, quite understandable

As a female with a nurturing side I rebel at the presentation, but as a philosopher that studies innate natures this was quite enlightening. I thank Donovan for saying it as plainly and intelligently as he did. Good job.

21 people found this helpful

Good at first, then it got weird.

I really liked the first two-thirds where the author made some very good, convincing points that get you thinking. Unfortunately, the last third ended up being a strange right-wing, anti-globalist rant and a deep dive into the realm of survivalist fantasy. I’ve lived in Somalia and other failed states, Jack, and I’m afraid they’re not exactly humanity’s high water mark. Feel free to play zombie apocalypse in the woods with your brahs, but I don’t suspect you’d last very long in the dog-eat-dog anarcho-libertarian wet dream that you champion. Real men live in the real world.

19 people found this helpful

A great amoral look at masculinity from the roots

If you could sum up The Way of Men in three words, what would they be?

Direct. Practical. Colorless.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was done by the author so I give it points for that. I like to hear from the author when possible and Jack Donovan is very clear yet a bit gritty and tough sounding so it worked. However, it was slower than I preferred, yet that may be due to the writing style as well; shorter sentences with bold and direct phrases.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The chapter on Honor was just excellent! There were several points in the book where I though, "Hell yeah...this guy gets it!" I didn't always agree with the evolutionary comparison between men and chimps but it served to get the point across. There are a lot of funny phrases in the book as well and Donovan delivers them with the kind of dry humor most guys really get.

Any additional comments?

For a society that has lost much of what raw, innate masculinity looks like, this book really helps. Donovan strips away any moral conjectures we tend to start from or surround manliness with and goes straight to how men function when our backs are against the wall and we need each other to survive. For a Christian, such as myself, this is a refreshing point of view as I typically hear about manliness in the higher ethics and moral discussions. However, Donovan sets a foundation for how and why men respond, see, compare, work for, and honor, each other, essentially saying it is built-in and it is for survival. He also does a good job of building the case for manliness while calling out the lunacy of our modern efforts to find alternatives to the survival gang or living as men: porn, gaming, sports, work, etc. He does this in a humorous and direct way. Phrases like "The Noble Masturbation Society" are just hilarious, but the kind of funny that is both true and crude...the kind of humor men enjoy most.All in all it was a good book, but stops short of answering a lot of the questions modern day men have about being a man. I know that was not the intent and perhaps The Way of Men is really The Way of Men: Part 1. For what it is though, it is a good read that should get men engaged in a discussion about how to hold onto the raw masculinity while growing in the higher ethics\morals as well.

19 people found this helpful

Blow your Brains out!!!!

I was assigned by one of the presidents of the Motorcycle Club that I am prospecting for to read this. I started the book off with a mindset of... let me just get this task done so that I can appease him. After the first two chapters I found myself intrigued, addicted, blown away by the morals and values of what Jack Donovan was preaching.

I'm looking forward to getting started on his next book

18 people found this helpful

If it wasn't for the glitches it would have gotten 5 stars

There are a bunch of glitches or possibly editing that's not done well in the beginning and a little more though out the rest of the boom here and there. A little annoying but not unbearable. Over all a great book! I plan to pick up multiple copies to give out to friend and family for birthdays and other gifts.

13 people found this helpful